Final ACAP conference

NEWS RELEASE

AN END TO PUBLISHER-SEARCH ENGINE LEGAL CLASHES
ACAP AIMS FOR UNIVERSAL ADOPTION BY END 2008

The new, non-proprietary, open standard, ACAP (Automated Content Access Protocol), is set to put an end to publisher-search engine legal clashes was unveiled and showcased in New York today, 29 November 2007 at a conference opened by World Association of Newspapers President, Gavin O’Reilly and addressed by keynote speaker AP CEO Tom Curley.

ACAP has been developed at the initiative of the World Association of Newspapers, the International Publishers Association and the European Publishers Council in close collaboration with search engines to protect the intellectual property of anyone wishing to make content available on the worldwide web. ACAP is the result of an intense 12-month pilot project which has resulted in a unique communications tool that will open the door to more and more high level content, giving all content owners the confidence to make their content available on the worldwide web.

From today, publishers globally will be encouraged to implement ACAP version 1 which will allow publishers, broadcasters and indeed any other publisher of content on the network to express their individual access and use policies in a language that search engine robots and similar automated tools can read and understand. ACAP is set to become a universal standard. Click on the following link for instructions on how to implement ACAP: http://www.the-acap.org/implement-acap.php.

Yesterday, the Times Online became the first to implement ACAP.

Politicians and business leaders have leant support to ACAP: EU Commissioner Reding spoke via video to the conference saying: "Media companies have not yet fully adapted their business models to new distribution technologies, which cut across national borders and traditionally separated sectors. The uncertainties associated with the shift to digital technologies inhibit the development of many potential online services.

The Commission is following the ACAP project closely, since it offers possibilities for a win-win situation for all stakeholders."

Gavin O’Reilly said: "We can overcome this obstacle to development thanks to ACAP. ACAP will give the content industry worldwide the incentive to innovate, create and disseminate. Newspapers, magazines, books, journals, directory publishers: anyone involved in digital publishing can now adopt a standard that will protect their interests and will make them masters of their own content."

Gavin continued: "ACAP has been the huge beneficiary of input, technical know-how and quiet wisdom of all of the major search engines, albeit in an “informal” way. So some 5 months on, I want to recognise this publicly, with our sincere thanks. And to demonstrate how collaborative, open and inclusive ACAP is, I am delighted to be able to welcome the very large number of representatives from Yahoo, Microsoft and Google who have joined us here today."

Further use cases for different business models, including for the audiovisual sector will be considered during the next phase of ACAP’s development.

ACAP Project Manager Mark Bide of Rightscom Ltd said: "Unprecedented industry support and commitment to the ACAP pilot must now be followed by a huge effort to roll ACAP out to the widest possible audience in the shortest possible time so that the digital publishing sector can reap the benefits of all the hard work to date."

For more information journalists can contact Heidi Lambert
at heidilambert@hlcltd.demon.co.uk or on Tel: +44 (1)245 476 265
or Angela Mills Wade on Tel: +44 (0)1865 310 732